Goals

This program explores aspects of the past, present, and future of women’s status in the United States and globally. Our program emphasizes the relevance of a rights-based discourse for young college students today, while at the same time offering an exciting knowledge base that other academic fields of study can actively incorporate.

Careers

Students of all backgrounds can apply the knowledge acquired in this program to careers such as law, policy-making, social welfare, health, counseling, human resources, economic development, education, journalism, literature, art, teaching, communication, or political activism at local, national, and international levels.

Today, virtually all graduate programs and professions require knowledge and considerations of gender issues, so this minor is crucial to students who wish to pursue further academic studies.

Program Description

Achieving social justice and overcoming sexism and racism in the USA and globally are the main underlining principles of the women’s studies program at Niagara University. Specifically, the program offers courses that address:

• The impact of social distinctions based on gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, culture, religion, and sexuality on equality among all people
• The use of feminist theories as points of intellectual departure and critical inquiry
• The indispensability of gender awareness in students’ own lives, including an appreciation of diverse ways of understanding the world
• The possibilities for activism and change at local, national, and global levels

The program draws its strength from using an interdisciplinary framework to analyze the historical, economic, political, social, and cultural experiences of women, and from providing critical tools for analytical inquiry into the lives of women through the use of “gender lens” and active integration of students’ own experiences and lives.

Minor